Molded toy luggage



March 26, 1957 BENKOE' MOLDED TOY LUGGAGE Filed June 1, 1955 INVENTOR.//'rw'/z Ben/Foe United States Patent MOLDED TOY LUGGAGE Irwin Benkoe,Douglaston, N. Y., assignor to Transograin Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application June 1, 1955, Serial No.512,379

2 Claims. (Cl. 190--48) This invention is concerned with toy cases madeof molded plastic, and has as its object the production of such objectsas toy doctors kits, valises for dolls clothes, and the like,characterized by low cost of manufacture, combined with sturdiness.Essentially, my invention comprises a box with a hinged cover made froma single molding, the hinge being produced by thinning out the mold atthe hinge point to produce the hinge.

In the toy industry, it is necessary to produce small size duplicates ofvarious products which are inexpensive and which will stand the abuse towhich all toys are subjected. Where passive models are being produced,simple molding will do. But when small size replicas of working objectsare concerned, the problem can be most ditficult. This has beenparticularly true with such toys as doctors kits, luggage for dollsclothes, etc. The problem of producing inexpensive hinged lids whichwill stand abuse has always plagued the industry. Ordinary hinges, whenreduced in size, are more difiicult to apply. and are not asserviceable. A great many expedients have been resorted to, withoutsolving the problem.

According to the present invention, I solve this problem by molding toyluggage from a flexible plastic with the body and lid as a single piece,thinning out the molded material at the line of contact between the bodyand the lid to a point where the plastic is easily bendable. Thisproduces an integral sheet of plastic with a weakened line which acts asthe hinge. Preferably, I reinforce the body and lid so that the normallyyieldable plastic is made more rigid. The resultant product isinexpensive, and unusually sturdy.

The invention can be best understood by referring to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation, in section, through a toydoctors kit, looking at it from its side.

Fig. 2 is a partial front elevation, in section, showing thereinforcement of the sides.

Fig. 3 is a broken away section through the hinge in closed position.

Fig. 4 is a broken away section through the hinge in open position.

The toy doctors case shown in the drawings is a single piece moldingmade from a flexible plastic, preferably a flexible thermoplastic likepolyethylene, Teflon (polyfluoroethylene) plasticized polyvinylchloride, plasticized polyvinylidene chloride, etc. It comprisesessentially a body portion and lid portions 11 and 12. The mold isthickened at the lines of contact between the body and top portions toproduce a thinned out line 13 of material, which acts as a hinge. Thethickness of the material at this point depends on the plastic usedwithpolyethylene, for example, the body of the case may be of the order of.100 inch in thickness, the hinge portion about onefifth as thick.

The base portion of the case has molded into it projecting knobs 14which serve to lift the bottom of the kit from the surface on which itrests. A central reinforcing knob 15 connects reinforcing ribs 16 acrossthe middle of the base dividing it into two compartments; together withtriangular ribs 17 set in the middle of the ends of the base, they givethe bottom structure rigidity.

The ends of the base beyond the hinge line have their tops cut away atthe outside to provide shoulders 18, into which the ends of the topsections fit.

Both top sections 11 and 12 have central reinforcing ribs 20 and a ledge21 projecting inwardly from the hinge, to act as further reinforcement.At the ends of the lids, just overlapping the ledges 21 ledges 22 areprovided which act as reinforcing, sealing and stop pieces. Theycooperate with portions 23 of the lids, which fit into the shoulders 18,to seal the ends of the bag.

The tops of the lid section 11 and 12 are constructed to fit into eachother. The lid 11 carries a molded handle 30, a projection 31 on theoutside of the lid, and curved projections 32 at its end which, with theedge 33 of the lid, form channels 34. The lid section 12 carries anintegral hasp 36 with a hole 37 in it. On closing the bag, the edge ofthe lid section 12 fits under the edge 33 of the lid section 11, in thechannels 34. The hasp overlays the section 11 and the assemblage islocked by hooking the projection 51 through the hole 37.

Obviously, the details of construction can be easily changed to provideother forms of toy valises and kits, without departing from the spiritof the invention, as defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A toy doctors case comprising a unitary molding of flexiblethermoplastic material comprising a body portion and a pair of lidportions adapted to completely close the case when butted together andeach comprising a curved top section and a pair of end sections,reinforcing ribs in the body portion and both lid portions, whereby arelatively rigid structure is obtained, the body portion being connectedto both lid portions by integral connecting lines of the same material,of such minor thickness relative to the body portion and the lidportions that the material is suificiently deformable to serve as hingesfor the lid portions, downward projections at the ends of the top edgeof one of the lid portions, separate projections formed on this lidportion just below the top edge and extending both horizontally andvertically at each end thereof, and spaced from the top edge to formchannels into which the top edge of the other lid portion will fit andbe held from sidewise movement, and means to lock the case with the lidportions in closed relationship.

2. The case of claim 1, in which the locking means comprises aprojection on one lid portion which engages a hasp on the other lidportion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS557,461 Welander Mar. 31, 1896 1,381,071 Flannery June 7, 1921 1,512,549Labadie et a1. Oct. 21, 1924 1,600,055 Meyer Sept. 14, 1926 2,510,643Long June 6, 1950 2,631,631 Vogel Mar. 17, 1953 2,655,968 Simmons Oct.20, 1953 2,713,368 Thomas July 19, 1955

